How to get priority boarding
Feb 14, 2019, 5:07 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Germany
Programs: BA GGL, CCR - TK G
Posts: 809
How to get priority boarding
A new one for me...
Arriving from Capetown in F and connecting in LHR to Athens .. The call was.. We have a full flight, if you want to check your hand luggage for free you will get priority boarding.. And swoosh .
Half the plane was ahead of group one.
Everyone was pretty upset but we got some smiles from the smart folks strolling down the escalator.
Well done BA
Arriving from Capetown in F and connecting in LHR to Athens .. The call was.. We have a full flight, if you want to check your hand luggage for free you will get priority boarding.. And swoosh .
Half the plane was ahead of group one.
Everyone was pretty upset but we got some smiles from the smart folks strolling down the escalator.
Well done BA
Feb 14, 2019, 5:25 am
#4
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,492
probably best adding to the current thread - "Group Zero" etc
Feb 14, 2019, 10:46 am
#6
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: UK
Programs: BA Exec Club, Flying Blue
Posts: 638
I think BA seem to be getting this consistently wrong. Comparing with AA, who's staff will go out and proactively ask people if they will gate check their bags, and if they agree, the staff do it on the spot, often carrying the bag for the customer. There is no chance that the PAX will get earlier boarding as a result. This is a sensible way of doing it, I'd say, the passenger gets a treat by getting their bag checked for free, what's more to want?
BA are crazy to reward HBO passengers not only by giving them a free bag check, but ALSO crazily letting them board first - the whole point of HBO is to make it hard and unattractive !
BA are crazy to reward HBO passengers not only by giving them a free bag check, but ALSO crazily letting them board first - the whole point of HBO is to make it hard and unattractive !
Feb 14, 2019, 11:41 am
#7
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Cambridgeshire
Programs: Varies
Posts: 1,296
Feb 14, 2019, 12:20 pm
#8
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Belfast
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 379
It seems a bit counter intuiative giving HBO customers a free checked bag and allowing them to board first.
Perhaps a better approach would be to board the premium cabins and higher status flyers first then make the announcement offering free checked bag.
Perhaps a better approach would be to board the premium cabins and higher status flyers first then make the announcement offering free checked bag.
Feb 14, 2019, 3:18 pm
#9
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: London
Programs: Mucci. Nothing else matters.
Posts: 38,644
Until I started reading FT, I too found it hard to imagine what type of person would get upset if a few people boarded ahead of them.
Feb 14, 2019, 3:26 pm
#10
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 192
The people that have no luggage for the overhead bin will be able to sit down almost straight away, having them board first means fewer people standing in the aisle waiting for people to sort the overhead bins, so should (in theory) speed up boarding, no?
Feb 14, 2019, 7:08 pm
#11
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: London UK
Programs: BAEC Silver,, Oman Air Gold
Posts: 747
That said, without amended boarding cards the only practical time to board them is before Band 1 I suppose
Last edited by CoweyB; Feb 14, 2019 at 7:44 pm
Feb 14, 2019, 8:44 pm
#12
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Dubai
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 396
Surely the advantage of boarding early is so you can get your bag in the overhead locker next to your seat? The people boarding because they have gate checked their bags and therefore won’t be taking up this space. Win win surely? You get to spend less time on an uncomfortable aircraft and there is more room for your bag?
Feb 14, 2019, 11:53 pm
#13
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Germany
Programs: BA GGL, CCR - TK G
Posts: 809
But your thread opened my eyes and made me realize . F*** HE IS RIGHT. .
So I thank God that this is pretty much my only problem that upsets me .. And.. Well all the people that were standing around me. 😇
Feb 15, 2019, 12:03 am
#14
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Germany
Programs: BA GGL, CCR - TK G
Posts: 809
Not sure I agree (from the airline's perspective)
The people that have no luggage for the overhead bin will be able to sit down almost straight away, having them board first means fewer people standing in the aisle waiting for people to sort the overhead bins, so should (in theory) speed up boarding, no?
Tha AA version works with the staff walking around.
But those about 50 people that dropped their luggage now still had tremendous amounts of bags and backpacks they now put in the overhead bins.
So they weren't 'clean' just cuz they checked one large suitcase.
BUT the whole progress can be very easy.. Keep it lake now. Have them go through Check their bags and sit down behind the staff as they did now.
But when you start boarding.. Just let them sit there and wait till the boarding is done?
From the way the staff calls for the luggage tho it sounds like it is to lure people in checking the luggage .. Most people don't want their bags taken.. For time at the belt.
So the policy is.. Come, come.. You get priority boarding...
Feb 15, 2019, 3:23 am
#15
Join Date: Jul 2014
Programs: Mucci de l'Arbitrage
Posts: 927
I think those proposals don't work.
Tha AA version works with the staff walking around.
But those about 50 people that dropped their luggage now still had tremendous amounts of bags and backpacks they now put in the overhead bins.
So they weren't 'clean' just cuz they checked one large suitcase.
BUT the whole progress can be very easy.. Keep it lake now. Have them go through Check their bags and sit down behind the staff as they did now.
But when you start boarding.. Just let them sit there and wait till the boarding is done?
From the way the staff calls for the luggage tho it sounds like it is to lure people in checking the luggage .. Most people don't want their bags taken.. For time at the belt.
So the policy is.. Come, come.. You get priority boarding...
Tha AA version works with the staff walking around.
But those about 50 people that dropped their luggage now still had tremendous amounts of bags and backpacks they now put in the overhead bins.
So they weren't 'clean' just cuz they checked one large suitcase.
BUT the whole progress can be very easy.. Keep it lake now. Have them go through Check their bags and sit down behind the staff as they did now.
But when you start boarding.. Just let them sit there and wait till the boarding is done?
From the way the staff calls for the luggage tho it sounds like it is to lure people in checking the luggage .. Most people don't want their bags taken.. For time at the belt.
So the policy is.. Come, come.. You get priority boarding...